I’ve been meaning to add a buttercream recipe to my blog for ages and just haven’t quite gotten around to it. I think part of my reluctance to post was that I’m not the best at piping and so had no idea how to present it to show off it’s yummy deliciousness. However, a couple of day’s ago I came across 3-second buttercream rose tutorial by Toni at This Mama. Unfortunately the site is no longer live but she made it look so simple that I couldn’t resist whipping up some vanilla cupcakes and a batch of buttercream to give it a try.
I was pretty pleased with the results *smug grin* so I decided buttercream finally deserved a place on my blog.
I’ve shown it here as cupcake frosting, but it’s extremely versatile and can be used for all sorts of cakes and desserts – cupcakes, sandwich/layer cakes, macarons and, my favourite, as a delicious buttercream layer beneath the fondant icing on the decorated celebration cakes I make for my family. If you’re making my all-in-one vanilla sponge birthday cake, then this is the recipe I use for the buttercream.
What’s the secret to perfect buttercream?
Buttercream is extremely simple to make. However, to ensure that you can create beautiful cakes with it you need to make sure it’s the right consistency.
At this point I want you to imagine you’re making a sandwich. I’m sure that, like me, you’ve experienced those times when you’ve taken the butter out of the fridge and attempted to spread it onto your sandwich only to find that you end up ripping the bread to shreds instead – butter still in one lump, bread with a great big hole in the middle. Now imagine how soft your butter needs to be to ensure that doesn’t happen. That’s the consistency you want your buttercream – just spreadable, but not runny.
So how do you get your buttercream to the right consistency?
It’s important to ensure that your butter is soft in the first place – just spreadable (like you would use for that successful sandwich). The best idea is to leave it out of the fridge for a little while to soften. However, I find that if I forget, I can cut it into cubes and beat it on a high speed in my Kitchenaid mixer and it softens pretty quickly (this only works because I have a powerful stand mixer. I used to try it with my hand mixer but I found my arm going round and round with the beaters stuck in the lump of butter instead of the butter softening as I wanted).
Unfortunately you start with the butter at just the right consistency and then add a load of icing sugar causing it to thicken up. So you need to soften it a little again.
This is where the milk comes in. Gradually beat in the milk a few drops at a time and check the consistency before adding more. For icing using 250g butter and 500g icing sugar I find about a tablespoon of milk is the right amount, but I add it at no more than ½ teaspoon at a time as other factors such as the temperature of your kitchen can also impact how soft the buttercream gets and it’s easy to add more but impossible to take it out.
How to stop everything getting covered in sugar when you make icing?
I’ve no idea. Whenever I make anything with icing sugar everything gets covered. If anyone has any suggestions on preventing this please, please let me know!
What You’ll Need
Before you start, make sure you have all of the equipment needed.
NOTE – These are affiliate links which means that if you purchase from Amazon after clicking on one the product links below I may earn a small commission. All of the products linked are ones I use in my kitchen.
Weighing Scales- Measuring Spoons
- Knife – to cut the butter
- Electric Mixer (or a bowl and hand mixer or wooden spoon)
- Sieve
- Piping Bags – if you’re planning on piping the cupcakes
- Piping Nozzle – To pipe the cupcakes as shown in the video you’ll need a JEM 1B nozzle. To pipe the cupcakes as shown in the pictures you’ll need a Wilton 2D nozzle.
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Easy Vanilla Buttercream
INGREDIENTS
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 500 g icing sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Approx. 1 tbsp milk - I use skimmed but any is fine
RECIPE VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the butter (250g) into cubes (about 1″) and beat in an electic mixer until soft.
- Add the icing sugar (500g) and beat until fully combined – I prefer to add the sugar a couple of spoonfuls at a time as this minimises the amount of sugar that flies out all over the kitchen! You’ll find that at first it’ll start to look lumpy but keep persevering and it’ll smooth out.
- Add the vanilla extract (½ tsp) and mix until fully combined.
- (See note about about the required consistency) Take a look at the consistency of the icing, is it spreadable? If not add ½ tsp milk and mix until fully combined. Check the consistency again and repeat until it is just spreadable.
- Once you’ve got the icing to the right consistency – have fun piping, spreading, or just licking if off the spoon!
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Fancy trying a different flavour of buttercream on your cakes?
Then take a look at my new recipe for delicious NUTELLA BUTTERCREAM
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Gluten-Free
- Egg-Free
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
If you’re looking for a dairy-free buttercream recipe then try my Vegan Vanilla Buttercream.
The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Melissa says
Hi, I’m just wondering what the ‘right’ consistency is? How soft should it be? Thank you xx
Charlotte Oates says
The right consistency is going to depend on how you intend to use the buttercream. You may make it to be a little softer is it is being piped on cupcakes or a little firmer if sandwiching a cake. And your personal preference is the other factor.
Alex Li says
Hi Charlotte,
Regarding “HOW TO STOP EVERYTHING GETTING COVERED IN SUGAR WHEN YOU MAKE ICING?”, I put an ever-so-slightly damp tea towel over the mixer, and wet the kitchen worktop with a bit of water. It’s a trick that builders use on construction sites – the ionisation in the water attracts the dust. Hope that helps!
Mel says
Hi can I use this recipe to create buttercream suitable to do different pipping techniques as the decoration for my cakes?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, this buttercream pipes well. Make sure you use butter not margarine and make it just soft enough to pipe but not too soft.
Lauren says
Sorry also what colouring would you recommend?
Charlotte Oates says
I usually use Sugaflair gel colours.
Lauren says
Can this be used inside a sponge cake with jam?
Charlotte Oates says
It can.
Cristina Gavrilescu says
Can you add colouring?
Thank you!
Charlotte Oates says
Yes. Use gel colours, not liquid and add it to the buttercream before adding any milk so that you can still get the consistency just right.
Carol says
My sister in law used to use a shower hat to stop icing sugar flying about. She cut a hole in the middle of the hat for the beaters and then fitted the hat round the bowl when beating the icing. Admittedly she used to make bigger quantities because she was a confectioner and iced some fantastic cake for all sorts of occasions (including Princess Anns wedding cake!)
Loraine says
Carol that’s a fantastic tip. Thank you so much for sharing
Alan Wiltcher says
Nice and clear
Beth Dann says
When making the buttercream a day ahead of time should it be kept in the fridge?
Charlotte Oates says
It should be fine at room temperature in a cool room, but I would store it in the fridge.
Sham says
Buttercream can feel the sugar coarsely… any solution for it ?
Charlotte Oates says
Which type/brand of sugar did you use?
Claire says
Can you freeze this?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes. You may find it’s a bit stiff after defrosting. If it is, beat in a little extra milk to soften it.
Francesca says
Hi,
I am a beginner. That said, I tried to make this buttercream but the amount of sugar thickens the butter a lot…do I just need to keep adding milk ? Or do I need to beat the butter more ?
Thank you! 🙂
Charlotte Oates says
Firstly, make sure your butter is soft and at room temperature. If it’s a bit cold and hard it’ll be hard to mix in all of the sugar and you’ll have a very stiff buttercream.
Next, make sure you mix in the sugar until it’s smooth, if it looks gritty/grainy then the sugar hasn’t been fully mixed in.
At this point you should have a smooth buttercream, but it’s likely to be quite stiff. This is where you keep adding milk to soften it. However, you need to make sure you don’t add too much at once otherwise it’ll be liable to split. Add no more than 1 tsp at a time, making sure you beat it thoroughly, then keep adding more until it is the consistency you want. You may find you need to add a few tsps. That’s fine.
Romani says
Followed instructions but got a sloppy mess
Charlotte Oates says
I’m sorry the hear that. Can I just check, did you use butter or margarine? This recipe must be made with butter, as margarine is too soft and will give a “sloppy” buttercream. If you did use butter, how firm was it when you made the buttercream? It should have been soft (so it could be easily spread on bread), but not runny. If the butter was the right consistency, then can I check how much milk you added? The milk should only be added 1 tsp at a time and fully combined before adding more so that you can check the consistency. If you add more in one go then it can leave you with a buttercream that’s too soft.
Yvonne Daly says
I have tried different recipes for buttercream and this is the best recipe
Sophie says
How big of a cake would this amount of buttercream cover?
Charlotte Oates says
I use it to fill and coat a 20cm round cake, but it depends on how thick you want your buttercream.
Zuha says
I hope this tip will help you
You can put the fine sugar inside the food storage bag in a strainer, close the bag tightly and sift the sugar
No more sugar dust
Same tip for flour
Zuha
Ann J Ferguson says
great tip – thanks
KK says
Best buttercream recipe I have tried perfect consistency.
Nothing worse than making roses on a fresh cake and it dripping off
Danniella Parker says
How long is this good for in a birthday cake please abd how best to store cake
Charlotte Oates says
It’ll be fine for about a week. I store my decorated cakes at room temperature in an airtight container, but you can also store them in the fridge. If you store them at room temperature, make sure your room isn’t too warm and you keep it away from the radiator.